Stamford ice dancer heading to Olympics

Eve Sullivan

Updated
12:25 pm EST, Thursday, February 6, 2014

Siobhan Heekin-Canedy of Stamford practices her ice dancing routine at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, on Tuesday, January 21, 2014. Heekin-Canedy and her partner, Dmitri Dun, will compete for Ukraine in the Sochi Olympics.

Siobhan Heekin-Canedy of Stamford practices her ice dancing routine at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, on Tuesday, January 21, 2014. Heekin-Canedy and her partner, Dmitri Dun, will compete for Ukraine

Siobhan Heekin-Canedy of Stamford practices her ice dancing routine at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, on Tuesday, January 21, 2014. Heekin-Canedy and her partner, Dmitri Dun, will compete for Ukraine in the Sochi Olympics.

Siobhan Heekin-Canedy of Stamford practices her ice dancing routine at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, on Tuesday, January 21, 2014. Heekin-Canedy and her partner, Dmitri Dun, will compete for Ukraine

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Figure skating since she was barely tall enough to hold the side of the rink, Siobhan Heekin-Canedy, of Stamford, is leaving Wednesday to fulfill her dream of competing in the Olympic Games.

But Heekin-Canedy and her ice dancing partner Dmitry Dun won't be marching behind the Stars and Stripes and if she wins a medal -- a possibility the pair admits is remote -- and the "Star-Spangled Banner" won't be playing. Instead, it will be under the blue-and-yellow banner of Dun's homeland, Ukraine, where the pair won the national championship in December.

"It just happened the way it did," Heekin-Canedy said. "It was hard in the beginning because people would say, `How can you represent another country?' I'm really proud to be an American and I'm also proud to represent the Ukraine."

Heekin-Canedy and Dun are among an elite group of skaters -- many of whom train at a rink just off the George Washington Bridge in Hackensack, N.J. There are just 24 couples who qualify to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Heekin-Canedy, 22, grew up in Stamford, attending Greenwich Catholic School and being home-schooled through her high school years, so she could attend practice. She's delaying a college education to continue skating.

"The first time I set foot on the ice was at Terry Conners in Stamford and I hated it," she said. "I kept falling down and I was too short to hold onto the side."

At 5 years old, Heekin-Canedy went to the Dorothy Hamill Skating Rink in Greenwich and had a better experience. She started taking lessons at Twin Rinks and had her first competition the next year.

"I think it was kind of gradual," she said. "I don't think I ever woke up and said `This is what I want to do.' "

Heekin-Canedy began as a single skater, doing freestyle and solo ice dancing. At 11 years old, she had a knee injury and couldn't perform some of the jumps. At 14, she got the opportunity to skate with a partner.

Ice dancing, Heekin-Canedy said, is based on ballroom dancing, so there aren't any jumps. She said it's more about technique and choreography.

"I was more successful at it, partly because of my injury," she said. "I also love the expression and skating with a partner."

After skating with two other Ukrainian partners, Heekin-Canedy said she was matched with Dun and they've been together 2 ½ years. She's been skating for the country for seven years and has been there 20 times.

"It's been 17 years of skating; this is what I've been working for," Heekin-Canedy said, while practicing last week at the Ice House in Hackensack. "It's a lot of pressure, but it's also exciting."

That day, several Olympians practiced, including Chris and Cathy Reed, a brother-and-sister team who will represent Japan in the ice dancing competition.

Heekin-Canedy and Dun trained in the morning, until he received a shoulder injury and had to see a specialist in Manhattan. She continued alone, circling the rink for hours and performing some moves from their routines.

"Couples skating is more acrobatic," her coach, Tyler Myles, said. "Ice dancing is really more about speed and footwork."

Myles said Heekin-Canedy has been performing with Ukrainian partners for several years, because ice dancing is more popular in that country, and finally received her citizenship. "This was the best fit for her," he said.

Heekin-Canedy and Dun will head to Ukraine to join that country's Olympic team Wednesday. A few days later, they'll head to Russia for the Olympic Games, which kick off on Feb. 6. The ice dancing competition will be held on Feb. 16 and 17.

Myles, who competed internationally in ice dancing, called it "an artistic expression of a musical character." Each team must perform a short dance and a free dance, both of which have different elements that must be completed.

For the short program, Myles said Heekin-Canedy and Dun will perform to the "Tango to Roxanne" from "Moulin Rouge." The compulsory dance in the program is the Finn Step, a version of the Quick Step.

"So every ice dancing team will complete one sequence from the Finn Step," he said.

Heekin-Canedy and Dun are also coached by two-time Olympican Galit Chait who said she's trying to polish the routines, reinforce everything they've done, keep them in good spirits and in the best shape possible.

Heekin-Canedy said there are so many little girls that dream of going to the Olympics and she started out like all of them, tottering around on skates. When she learned they were going to the Games, it was a rush of emotion.

"I would say it was mostly a relief, because the last four years have been building to it," she said. "We knew we were capable, but then you have to go out and do our job."